This invention relates to a container.
More particularly the invention relates to a container having support means selectively movable between a first position in which a further container can be stacked inside the container, and a second position in which the support means can support a further container.
This type of container is described in GB-A-2177377, and comprises a body having a base and a side wall extending upwardly from the base.
The support means comprises at least one support member which has at least one formation which is adapted to cooperate with a respective formation in an upper portion of the side wall.
The container described in this specification is especially suited for use as a receptacle for produce such as fruit and vegetables, including mushrooms. The movable support means enables the containers to be stacked within one another when they are empty, but to be stacked one on top of another, supported by the support means, when they contain produce.
Whilst the container has been found to be extremely effective, there is room for improvement.
When full containers are transported in lorries it has been found that up to about fifteen full containers can be stacked on top of one another.
If more than fifteen containers are used, then some of them tend to become damaged and cannot be reused. The damage can be so severe that the contents of the containers are emptied into the lorry.
However, the interior height of the storage area of most lorries is sufficient to carry between about eighteen and twenty containers; thus, it is usual for part of the storage area to be left unused. This situtation is undesirable because the cost of running lorries is expensive, so the storage space available should be used to the maximum.
It would be advantageous if the containers could be modified to increase the number of full containers which can be transported one on top of another so that none of the storage space in the lorries is wasted.
One way to solve this problem would be to increase the wall thickness of the container. However, this would significantly increase the manufacturing cost of the containers, and would cancel out any saving in transportation costs.
Other forms of container are described in FR-A-2325565 and GB-A-2129401.